This invention relates to aspirating (e.g., gastric suction) devices and more particularly to those which are both disposable and particularly adapted for collecting fluids from body cavities such as the stomachs of new born infants.
Aspirating devices have heretofore been proposed, illustrative of which are those represented by Holbrook et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,935, Dickey et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,463, Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,031, Coyne U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,220 and Halligan U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,628. These patents disclose, inter alia, vacuum operated systems for aspirating fluids from body cavities. According to these proposals, the required suction is either supplied by connection to a separate vacuum production mechanism, often through a connection to a pipe or tube leading to a central system, or through a system that is either cumbersome or which is subject to contamination. Moreover, the proposals of the prior art have embodied structures and configurations which are either not suitable for single use and disposal or which required a separate suction source.
The advent of pernicious infective vectors such as the AIDS virus has heightened the danger of multiple utilization of medical equipment, thus increasing the importance of single use and disposability. Moreover, there is a need for an aspirator that is self contained and independent of any external suction source. Accordingly, there has continued to be a need for an aspirating mechanism which small, light in weight, easily transportable, effective to aspirate fluids from body cavities, inexpensive, independent of external vacuum sources, readily operable by a medical professional single-handedly, sterile, structured so as to avoid any accidental contamination of the user, and so low in cost as to render it attractively disposable.